#1 Hits Of The 1960s

The Lennon Sisters sing The Beatles! Yep, this 1964 album, #1 Hits Of The 1960s, features The Lennon Sisters singing I Wanna Hold Your Hand. It's a hoot. So is their version of Hit The Road Jack. "What you say?!"



The rest of the album is great. The girls shine on many of the pop tunes, and do a standout version of Our Day Will Come. Kathy takes the lead in many of the solo spots - her low voice is so appealing. They hold their own with girl groups of the day. Pity they weren't played on the radio.

The track listing is:

Side A

1. You Don't Own Me
2. Hit The Road Jack
3. There! I've Said It Again
4. Our Day Will Come
5. I Will Follow Him
6. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Side B

7. I'm Leaving It Up To You
8. Theme From A Summer Place
9. The End Of The World
10. I Wanna Hold Your Hand
11. Don't Break The Heart That Loves You
12. Everybody's Somebody's Fool

Oddly, the side B listings on the back cover as well as the record itself are all out of order. A minor goof on an outstanding album.

Download it here.

The Lennon Sisters' Favorites album

Here we have another lp available for download: The Lennon Sisters' Favorites. This album was released in 1962.

As you can see from the delightful cover, this was recorded during the time that Dee Dee "retired" from the group, after getting married in 1960. To me Peggy, Kathy and Janet, as a trio, sounded not that different from when they were a quartet. On some songs they do have a deeper tone, but honestly I don't hear a huge difference.

The opening number, The Green Leaves Of Summer, has a sexy, samba style to it. Other standouts are My Favorite Things and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine. The absolute highlight for me though is Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen. I love the vampy piano and swaggering beat.

Download and enjoy!

Somethin' Stupid album

Released in April 1967, Somethin' Stupid was the first of four Lennon Sisters albums produced by Snuff Garrett.



I very much like the pop stylings on these records. I actually prefer them to many of the Lennon Sisters more recent arrangements which can be overly slow. Personally I'd like to hear them perform some recent songs - that would be a treat. I don't mean Britney. Yeah, can't you just imagine, "It's Janet, bitch".

*snort*

Noooo, I mean stuff along the lines of Rilo Kiley's Silver Lining, Mindy Smith's Come To Jesus (okay this is a slow one, but it's so haunting), Sheryl Crow's Diamond Road, Garbage's Special (really, they could harmonize the hell out of this one), and anything by Maria Mckee. Well, that's my wishlist.

Anyway, back to the lp. It's got some terrific pop gems. I'm especially partial to Single Girl and There's A Kind Of Hush. Have a listen and enjoy!

Tear Time and Take Five

Pop Country, (Feb. 1969), is not particularly one of my favorite Lennon Sisters albums, but it does contain a real gem, Tear Time. I adore their version of this song. It's so sad, lush and just meant for dancing with someone close. I always end up putting it on repeat whenever I play it. I'm pretty sure it's Dee Dee who has the divine solo in it. See if you love it as much as me - download it here.

Also, thanks to Peter MacNeil for the link to the following two Las Vegas Sun articles on the Lennon Sisters.

September 04, 2007

TAKE FIVE: THE LENNON SISTERS

By Jerry Fink
Las Vegas Sun

Lawrence Welk turned the Lennon Sisters into household names in 1955 - long before the Osmonds and the Jacksons - and on his television stage they sang for 14 seasons.

As performers, the Lennon Sisters have been around for 50 years. Peggy, now 66, and Dee Dee, 68, are now retired. But Janet, 61, and Kathy, 64, have been singing in Branson, Mo., for almost 15 years.

Janet and Kathy and some of their grandchildren will appear at the FAO Schwar z toy store in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace Saturday, performing from 3 to 5 p.m. and signing their new line of dolls, Best Pals.

The duo recently talked to the Sun by telephone from their home in Branson.



1. Career

Janet: It's been an unbelievable career. We were blessed to have started so young and to have worked with the greats in the business - Ed Sullivan, Perry Como, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Benny, George Burns, Andy Williams. Jimmy Durante was a jewel. We sang for seven presidents. It's been an incredible career. Young people just starting out today don't have the chance to work with that caliber of talent.

But we traveled and were gone a lot from our family. We had a family of 11 children. We all went to Catholic grammar and high schools. We lived in a great big old house in Venice, Calif., and mom and dad saw to it that we led as normal a life as possible. We would perform Saturday nights at the ABC studios - sing a song, do a show - and then come home, change our little brothers' and sisters' diapers, do homework.

2. Downside

Janet: A fan who had been in and out of mental institutions was, in his mind, married to our sister Peggy. In his mind dad was keeping him from being with Peggy and he shot and killed our dad. We were in our 20s. We trusted our fans so much but he had scared us for years, and there were no stalking laws back then. We couldn't do much about him. He ended up following through on his promises. Mom was left at home with eight children under 18 to raise.

Kathy: It was like a terrible movie, and to think we got through all that. We were going to quit performing. It was Andy Williams who talked us out of it. We never wanted to go on stage live again. We were petrified. But Andy promised we would be safe. He took us to Vegas. He said, "You'll be treated like queens. You'll be all right." So Andy Williams brought us back onstage. The first place we performed after daddy was killed was Caesars Palace.

3. Coping

Janet: We have each other. We've always been close. We were our own therapy, really. We got along so well. We were very open with one another. We dealt with it by talking about it. We all have deep faith in God and believe things happen because they're suppose d to, and our mom had tremendous faith.

Kathy: Mom had the faith of Job. She was a rock. She would comfort us and others, saying, "We don't know the reasons. We'll never know why. We have to accept and go on. And we must know that we are put on Earth for a reason. You are blessed to have had your dad this many years." We were raised that way. It was really the deep faith in God that got us through. You go on. You don't have many options. It was very frightening, continuing to perform and to be around crowds. We had security with us for a long time. That's one of the reasons it was very interesting for us to come to Branson. We work right across the street from where we live. It's a beautiful theater right across the street and we can come home every night.

4. Branson

Kathy: The four of us moved here about 15 years ago, plus many of the children. They worked behind stage with us, some on stage. Three of our brothers, who had a wonderful big band show at the Welk Resort (in Escondido, Calif.) came here to live too. We have four siblings still in California and the rest are here.

Janet: The Lawrence Welk Orchestra was here up until three years ago. It was a big band show, with a lot of the performers from the Lawrence Welk television show. My husband was the conductor and did all the musical arrangements. Then three years ago they stopped that show and since then we've been performing the Christmas show here with the Gatlin Brothers and we love it.

5. Their favorite stars

Janet: We found that the bigger the star, the nicer they were. We ran across one who wasn't - we won't mention whom - but really when you think about it, just one out all the great people we worked with isn't so bad. We loved Perry Como and Jimmy Durante and Sammy Davis, one of our fun, fun friends.

Kathy: Andy Williams. We were very close to him, and still are. The Osmond Brothers. John Davidson. Jack Jones. We're very lucky. We're very close with Glen Campbell. We've worked with them all. It's very hard to say who is our favorite. We were always treated so beautifully.
Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.

Las Vegas Sun

September 04, 2007

Sisters' line of rag dolls recalls the good-ol' days

By Kristen Peterson
Las Vegas Sun

With all the bells and whistles of today's dolls, clever action figures and dancing bears, a simple rag doll with yarn hair, knit stockings and a prairie outfit seems almost fictional, an embodiment of any maudlin country song referencing "the good-ol' days."

Rag dolls don't sing, dance, talk or walk.

They're not as elaborately outfitted as the "American Girl" series, nor are they as expensive. They lack toy cell phones, head phones and BlackBerries and they are years (years!) away from the sexy single Barbie and her nemesis Bratz Dolls.

Essentially, the rag doll begins and ends with your imagination. And that can be quite a responsibility.

But in talking with Kathy and Janet Lennon of the famed Lennon Sisters, embracing this generational throwback to rag dolls isn't as difficult as it seems.

In fact, they believe it's quite natural.

A year ago, the two sisters, who came to prominence at ages 3 and 6 on "The Lawrence Welk Show," launched a line of rag dolls called Best Pals. The soft, pliable 16-inch dolls are replicas of their own childhood dolls made by their mother and grandmother.

Why did they return to an earlier era of dolls? "We felt there was a hole in the toy industry for a simpler time, a need to nurture a doll, to hug and love it," Kathy Lennon says.

The dolls' embroidered faces, patterned dresses and 1950s simplicity may turn quizzical eyes among today's youth who demand battery-operated interactive play, but with the help of the Lennon sisters, here is some advice:

Step 1

Just hug her: The arms are not animatronic, but she will hug you back in her own limp, rag doll way. The rag doll "just falls into your arms," Kathy Lennon says.

Step 2

Take her outdoors: Run down the street and through the park - and let her soar in the open air. Forget tenderness for the moment. "You can hold her by the braid. You can hold her hand or her dress," Janet says. "That's how we carried her."

Step 3

Take her wherever you go. Roll her up and fold her into a backpack, Kathy Lennon says. "We would take our dolls in our little doll trunks."

Step 4

Be thoughtful. "We also took little nighties with them," Janet says. "They'd sleep in our hotel beds with us."

Step 5

Nurture them: "We used to sit in our little rockers and sing to them," Janet says, adding, "It's such a self explanatory doll. The child transforms."

For further instructions, ask the sisters directly. In town for the ABC Kids Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Kathy and Janet Lennon will be at FAO Scwhar z in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday to launch a new line of multicultural dolls and sing a few songs from their "Best Pals" CD.

They'll also have their original dolls. No bells, no whistles.
Kristen Peterson can be reached at 259-2317 or at kristen@lasvegassun.com.

Las Vegas Sun

Get Groovy Y'all

Without a doubt, On The Groovy Side is one of my absolute favorite Lennon Sisters albums. It's chock-a-block full of peppy pop tunes. Okay, back in 1967 the word "groovy" wasn't exactly synonymous with The Lennon Sisters, but with this lp the girls proved they could put their glorious harmonies on songs of the day and sound contemporary and fun. And groovy, of course!

Since I wanted to enjoy my vinyl collection without being attached to a turntable, I went to Circuit City and bought one of those players that lets you easily transfer old records to your pc. Now I can listen to this fun album wherever I want. Woot! I've uploaded all the tunes - click here and enjoy.


The above album cover is the re-released Ranwood version - it originally came out on the Dot label.

Highlights for me are Up, Up, And Away, Never My Love and Sunny. I love the opening horns on I Will Wait For You - I can't help but do my goofy, sixties dance. Shut up. The grooviness gets to me y'all.

This album also has Kathy's version of Ode To Billy Joe, which I wrote about earlier. I'm probably just way too much of a Bobbie Gentry fan to be objective about this song. I wonder what other Lennon fans think of Kathy's version.

Happy listening!

vinyl heaven

Dang, I had forgotten how many Lennon Sisters albums I bought years ago. I tried arranging them for a photo - I had to stand on a chair to get this pic.



Ooh, white go-go boots! Makes you wanna get up and do the Pony.

Every so often, as I play these old records again, I’m going to post some comments on various songs that strike my fancy. Here we go.

Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)
This is the Lennon Sisters song I go back to time and again. I never get tired of listening to it. I included it on my girl groups playlist, and let me tell you, it holds its own alongside beauties by The Shangs, The Shirelles, The Ronettes and the rest. What an underrated pop gem. It’s got a delicious opening harmony, and goes straight into a funky bass and guitar. It’s even got strings. The big draw here is Kathy’s lead vocals. They’re sort of mournful and wonderfully pouty, as she sings of discovering that her no good boyfriend is two-timing her with her best friend. Oh my. This is simply superlative teenage angst pop.

Ode To Billie Joe
Being such a big Bobbie Gentry fan (seriously y’all, the woman’s work is genius) I had a lot of trepidation when I learned a Lennon recorded it. I’m a Southern girl. Bobbie’s lyrics are extremely evocative of the Deep South. It conjures up memories for me of my great-grandmother’s shotgun house in tiny Simmesport and the whole rural experience. Obviously Bobbie’s version is the definitive one. Nothing will compare to it, but I gotta admire the gut’s it took for Kathy to have a go at it. It’s not bad actually. I know, what a ringing endorsement! Her voice is nice and low, and she does a good job of trying to express the emotions of the lyrics. I like the little different inflections she does throughout that make the song more her own. More than anything I am just glad she didn’t attempt a Southern accent. That could’ve been disastrous. As much as I like Kathy’s voice, I really would have loved for Janet to have done this song. Janet’s voice is more slow and sultry which would have served the song very well, I think.

Our Day Will Come
Gorgeous. This is one of my all-time favorites by them. The sisters’ harmonies are absolutely perfect. And Janet! Her voice is low, melodious, and downright sexy. Baby girl ain’t no baby no mo’. The hypnotizing samba beat gets me swaying every time. Oh yeah.